Gin Blossoms guitarist finds band's reunion a bit surreal

The Gin Blossoms will perform at 10:30 p.m. this Saturday at the 32nd annual Theo and Stacy's Greek Festival at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place. The stop is part of a lengthy summer tour for the band.

KALAMAZOO -- With a nongrungy sound in the grunge-filled early '90s, the Gin Blossoms rose to fame with the hit sing-along singles "Hey Jealousy" in 1993, "Till I Hear It from You" in 1995 and "Follow You Down" in 1996.

In 1997, the band broke up, and the members started focusing on different projects. Vocalist Robin Wilson and drummer Phillip Rhodes formed a new band called the Gas Giants; guitarists Jesse Valenzuela and Scott Johnson put together a band called the Low/Watts; and bassist Bill Leen left the music business altogether to sell rare books.

After a few chance performances together about 2000, the band officially reunited in 2002 and began touring and will stop in Kalamazoo at 10:30 p.m. Saturday during the 32nd annual Theo and Stacy's Greek Festival at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place. The stop is part of a lengthy summer tour for the Gin Blossoms.

"I don't know exactly why we got back together, but it felt right," Valenzuela said. "We realized that there was a surprising amount of interest in people wanting to see us play again, and it kind of went from there."

In 2006 the band released "Major Lodge Victory," its first studio album in more than a decade. With a grittier sound, "Victory" has a more grown-up feel but still features the classic alternative rock sound that made the band famous.

"We hope this album is a little different than our past ones, but still us," Valenzuela said. "We'll play some of the newer stuff (at Saturday's show), but don't worry we will pay careful attention to play our classics, too. We know what the fans like."

Looking back on his career in music, Valenzuela said the jump back into the band has been a bit surreal.

"It is crazy to think that you can still make a living in the music business after all these years," he said. "That surprised all of us."

Valenzuela said another Gin Blossoms album is not in the works, but he didn't rule out the possibility of another one some day. They will release some songs onto iTunes this summer, he said.

"We are just kind of playing things by ear," he said.

You also can hear Valenzuela's latest solo effort this summer when his single "Don't Change for Me" will be used in promotions for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.